The Vatican released the first images of Pope Francis’ tomb, located in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The disclosure took place on the occasion of a visit by cardinals, who participated in a prayer ceremony at the scene last Sunday (27).
Francisco’s burial took place on Saturday (26), after the funeral that gathered 250,000 people in St. Peter’s Square, but was not open to the public or officially transmitted. The revealed images now show the simple and discreet space, according to the desire of the Pontiff, who had requested a tomb without ornamentation, only with the inscription “Franciscus”.
During the afternoon, members of the Cardinian College prayed on the seconds on the spot, led by Cardinal Lithuanian Rollanda Makrickas, coadjutor of the Basilica. Faithful accompanied the celebration outside and continued to arrive throughout the day. According to the Vatican, more than 20,000 people had already passed through the tomb by the late afternoon of Sunday.
Remember the funeral
Francisco died at the age of 88 and had his funeral celebrated on Saturday (26) in the morning in St. Peter’s Square. The mass was conducted by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re and was attended by dozens of world leaders, including Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. After the celebration, the pontiff’s body was taken in procession through the center of Rome to the basilica where it was buried – an unprecedented gesture in almost a century to Pope.
